Shigaraki shook as he realized how completely he had been defeated, and wondered if All Might had cheated.
"No amount of cheating could ever make up for good old fashioned hard work! That's something young Shigaraki will have to learn." All Might declared. He kept his voice steady despite the pain his on-screen body was still sending to him; he'd had a lot of practice with that over the last couple years. He went silent when Recovery Girl put her hand on his shoulder though, a silent command not to push himself further.
"I kinda hope he never does learn that, especially if him trying to cheat makes it easier for us to win." Mineta commented. There were a couple murmurs of agreement.
Back in the mountain zone, a villain had taken Kaminari hostage. The two girls there berated themselves for letting that happen.
Nedzu nodded. "One of the most important lessons one can learn in hero work is not to underestimate any opponent. This is indeed an unfortunate situation, but an understandable one given how inexperienced you all are."
"So, as long you all learn from this experience, then you'll have taken a good step forward in becoming competent heroes." Present Mic said.
Aizawa was scowling at the image. Even if he knew the boy was okay now, it didn't sit well with him seeing one of his students in the grips of a villain. Especially since the boy had been made so helpless by overusing his own quirk. He made a mental note to collaborate with Recovery Girl and the support department in making sure Kaminari was at less risk of such things. Aloud he said:
"This is why one-shot attacks that drain the rest of your energy are almost never a viable strategy."
The villain warned the girls not to move as he approached them. Jirou started talking to distract him while she tried to get her earphone jack into her speakers, but the villain caught on and she had to stop.
"Figures one of the last ones standing would be one of the smart ones." Jirou griped. Momo nodded.
"Indeed, that was bad luck. Given what we saw of some of the other villains, it is likely your strategy would have succeeded had another individual been the one to take Kaminari hostage."
"Though either way such an attack would have put Kaminari in the line of fire too, so I certainly hope you'll be more discerning when it comes to civilian hostages." Aizawa said with a raised eyebrow. The two girls blushed in embarrassment, but Aizawa stood by his word. A hostage situation made for a terrible choice, one that they had been faced with far too early, but he'd be damned if he didn't make sure they were ready for next time.
"I didn't know you had such a high opinion of 'electric types'." Kaminari teased, referring to Jirou's 'distraction talk'. The fact that he was able to do so was kind of impressive, since a scene shift had only now allowed him to snap out of his electrified stupor. When Jirou leveled a glare at him he put up his hands in surrender. Then his expression shifted to something more serious. "I do want to thank you both though, for doing what you could. I never got a chance to say that before."
Jirou's eyebrows shot up in surprise, while Momo nodded. "You are most welcome Kaminari, I'm sorry we weren't more effective."
"Hey, it was my dumb quirk that made me so easy to grab. Sorry about that." He said, using his own apology to brush off hers.
Back in the center of the USJ, Shigaraki concluded that All Might wasn't weaker like he'd thought.
"He JUST said he was weaker than before! Pay attention you damn handsy bastard!" Bakugo yelled.
"That was a poor choice of terminology."
"Shut it Icy Hot!"
Shigaraki muttered about someone lying to him.
All Might tensed again, and this time not from his battered body showing up on screen a moment later. It had to be someone else...it had to be...that man couldn't still be alive...not after everything he went through to finally put him down!
All Might dared Shigaraki to attack him, and the young man was visibly taken aback.
"It seems All Might is also adept at pure intimidation." Tokoyami noted.
"A good display of power can do that I suppose." Shoji said. "I bet you and dark shadow could get pretty good at that too." Tokoyami looked surprised at the compliment.
"Indeed. If you have the ability to take away your opponents will to fight, it can often end a battle much more quickly and cleanly than fighting them head on." All Might said.
"The downside is that tends to make them run instead, so you have to chase them down." Present Mic interjected. "Or they panic and might try to lash out. So be prepared for anything."
The two boys nodded in acceptance and thanks for the advice.
The four boys watched All Might face down the villains, and decided they weren't needed. Kirishima urged all of them to leave so they wouldn't risk getting taken hostage.
"Finally." Aizawa muttered to himself, which made Present Mic snort.
Midoriya continued to watch All Might though, and realized just how much All Might had pushed himself. Then All Might's thoughts revealed how he was barely holding onto his 'hero form'.
The students started to grow restless as they were once again faced with just how close the USJ fight had actually been, all without them realizing it. Some glanced over at the skeletal All Might now and then, either to reassure themselves that he was currently fine, or to wonder what would have happened if the bluff had failed.
Kirishima felt guilt knot his gut. 'I never would have tried to get the others to leave if I knew how vulnerable he was! Or, maybe I should have said that even if I did know? We'd really be screwed if one of us got caught with All Might in that state...gah! What am I thinking?! I real man should never leave an ally behind like that!'
Bakugo was seething, though he managed to do it fairly quietly. He'd always looked up to All Might as a paragon of strength, as someone who would never lose, not until Bakugo got strong enough to beat the hero himself. Seeing All Might's vulnerabilities being shown again and again; seeing how close the man had come to losing during the USJ... All of it was challenging that image, and that left Bakugo with a lot of feelings that he had no idea what to do with.
Todoroki was also chiding himself. For all that he hated his old man, he couldn't deny that the #2 hero had imparted some valuable skills onto him. He'd thought that one of those skills had been spotting weaknesses in others, but the fact that he hadn't noticed All Might's bluff while being so close made him wonder. Though he supposed that may have been due to All Might getting more practice. His father complained loudly about how All Might still held the #1 spot, despite doing less and less actual hero work over the years, and he'd been doing that for a few years now. Depending on how long All Might had managed to hide the side effects of his injury before the public began to notice, then it might have been an even longer time that he had to practice. So it just made sense that All Might would be very adept at making people believe his bluffs.
Shigaraki started to freak out again, lamenting that he didn't have his thoughtless machine of a noumu anymore. Kurogiri urged Shigaraki to calm down, pointing out all of the things that were still to their advantage, and how they might still be able to kill All Might before reinforcements came if they worked together.
"How unsightly." Aoyama said, wrinkling his nose as he watched the villain crazily scratching at his own neck. "It's a wonder he's even the leader at all if he acts so crudely when a plan goes awry."
"That's a good point actually..." Izuku said slowly. "Kurogiri has shown that he's a lot better at keeping his cool and adapting to changes in the plan, yet Shigaraki's the one who is presented as the leader. Doesn't that seem odd?"
"It does, now that you mention it." Ojiro said, frowning in thought.
"Maybe Shigaraki is secretly really charismatic?" Mineta suggested. "Maybe he was the one who convinced all the other villains to come?"
Hagakure hummed doubtfully. "I think, even if I was a villain, I'd find Kurogiri's confidence a lot more reassuring than whatever the heck Shigaraki has going on."
Ashido nodded "I mean, unless he was a lot better at hiding his crazy back at the bar, then I'd agree."
Koda mumbled something that most of the class couldn't hear but Sato, who was sitting next to him, nodded.
"Yeah, it could be an intimidation thing, like keeping a big barking dog on a leash and using it to intimidate people."
"I'll agree that their relationship makes it seem like Shigaraki is being handled to some degree," Momo interjected "but that doesn't change the fact that he's been giving orders to both the Noumu and the other villains. If his true role were so simple, it would also be odd for him to have that level of authority." Iida nodded, getting where she was going.
"Indeed, his authority seems to be real, because Kurogiri always suggests rather than orders and Shigaraki has always had final say so far, yet he doesn't seem very well suited to the role."
"You all make good points. The actions and exact roles of those two villains was something that I was hoping to discuss with the police the day following this incident, though that was before we came here of course." Nedzu admitted. "Perhaps we'll get to see that very discussion."
As the others talked Izuku listened, and put his chin in his hand as he thought. There could be a way for the contradicting behavior to make sense...if Shigaraki were more the face of the League rather than its true leader. Had the man ever actually claimed to be the leader? He couldn't remember, but it was undeniable that, while Kurogiri was better at keeping cool, he didn't leave the same kind of impact that Shigaraki did. He doubted any of them would be forgetting Shigaraki's voice any time soon or be as comfortable around hands now, and maybe that was exactly the point. To leave an impact, whether the plan succeeded or not. But if that was the case, if Shigaraki wasn't in charge, then who-
All Might nudged Izuku, and the boy was brought out of his mutterings to see that the discussions of the others had ended and the episode was resuming.
Kurogiri's reassurances calmed Shigaraki, and made him willing to have another go at All Might.
"Hm, seems All Might's intimidation roll wasn't quite high enough." Tokoyami mused to himself. Dark Shadow snickered in his head.
As other villains started to recover from being knocked out, the boys in the center of the USJ got ready to face them. Except for Midoriya, who was once again faced with the knowledge that he was the only one aware of just how vulnerable his mentor was in that moment.
"I'm sorry young Midoriya. I never meant for this secret to lay this kind of burden on you, not this soon." Yagi said, sighing heavily and looking down.
"It- It's okay. I'm glad that knowing made me able to help."
Yagi looked up and saw the sincerity and determination in Izuku's expression. He sighed again, though much lighter this time, and ruffled Izuku's hair, making him squawk in surprise. What was he going to do with this kid?
The main villains rushed at All Might, and the hero braced himself, but then suddenly Midoriya was flying into the fray.
Midoriya let out a strangled yell and flinched hard as pain shot through his legs.
"Midoriya!" Yagi cried, quickly reaching out to steady him.
"Dang it, I got too caught up...should have remembered that was coming." Izuku said through gritted teeth. Yagi huffed a laugh, which thankfully didn't produce any blood.
"Well, you certainly aren't the only one this time around." In a round about way this might be good preparation for when the boy gets hurt in future episodes when they have much less forewarning, because he figures that's inevitable by now. He thinks better of saying it aloud though, and just helps Izuku into a safer position.
Izuku's thoughts show he has at least a partial plan as he aims for the one part of Kurogiri he knows is solid, but the villains think just as quickly and soon Izuku is faced with Shigaraki's hand instead of Kurogiri's neck.
People around the room gasped or tensed once again. Way too close. Everything in the USJ had been way too close!
Tsuyu shivered, thinking of those fingers pressed against the sides of her face.
Aizawa muttered about problem children, which made Present Mic think about how much it must be eating at the other teacher that he couldn't be there to continue protecting his students.
'Whatever their roles might be, it is clear from how quickly they acted that these two villains have been working together for quite some time.' Nedzu thought to himself.
"Dammit Deku." Bakugo growled so lowly that even Kirishima could barely hear it.
The hand is suddenly blasted away by gunfire. More bullets fly through the air, saving Kaminari as well. The cavalry of UA teachers had arrived, loudly announced by Iida.
The room erupted into cheers, from both the students and Present Mic. Izuku flopped onto the ground along with his onscreen counterpart, glad that the screen is off him and relieving him of pain for the moment. All Might sighed in relief.
"You were great Iida! Score one for the class rep!" Kirishima declared. Sero nodded vigorously.
"Seriously dude, you have no idea how happy we were to see you!"
"You all were absolutely magnifque!"
"Yeah! Talk about a big damn heroes moment!" Ashido cheered.
"You did amazing Iida, you were a real hero." Uraraka smiled warmly at him, making him blush a bit.
"You were all just as amazing, if not more. I'm just glad I was able to arrive with back up in time." he insisted. Truth be told, a part of him had still felt bad that he'd left his classmates to deal with the villains while he ran. But after seeing just how many close calls there had been, what could have happened to Midoriya and All Might had they arrived even a few moments later, his guilt and doubts were quelled.
The recovered villains tried to take on the teachers, but we quickly driven back.
"OH YEAH! Nobody messes with our students and gets away with it!" Present Mic yelled, relishing the chance to see himself and his coworkers go to town on the villains once again. Students cheered along with him. Aizawa and Recovery Girl shared a look of exasperation, partly for Mic's antics and partly for the reminder that the most important players actually had gotten away.
Shigaraki called for Kurogiri to warp them out, but didn't do it quickly enough to avoid getting peppered with bullets. Kurogiri moved to warp him away, but fell under attack himself. Kurogiri just managed to get them both away as Shigaraki leveled one final threat against All Might.
Hagakure made a noise of disgust, and her clothes trembled as she shuddered. "Ugh, I really didn't need any more creepy Shigaraki faces to haunt my dreams."
"And yet we got one anyway." Jirou said wryly. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough for him to bleed out so we don't have to see him anymore."
Sato's grimaced. "I feel like, as a hero, I should say you shouldn't wish death on people, but..."
Shoji nodded. "I understand what you mean. It would be a relief to not have to worry about him anymore."
The screen showed various heroes coming to the students' aid, while Izuku's voice over explained that the USJ had been a taste of what the pros went through, and that they weren't ready for it.
"Speak for yourself Deku!" Bakugo snapped.
"Am I even technically the one saying that? Just how does the narration part work?" Izuku wondered to himself.
"I gotta agree with Midoriya this time, man." Kirishima said with a shake of his head. "I'm so not ready to deal with villains on a daily basis, and that's not even counting that Noumu thing."
"We made it out okay in the end." Bakugo argued.
"The teachers didn't, and I'm pretty sure the only reason none of us were hurt worse was because the teachers came so fast, kero."
"Too many of those close calls came down to luck." Ojiro said, getting nods of agreement around the room. "I mean, I think we did well all things considered, but..."
"But the point still stands." Aizawa finished.
It took the students a few moments to realize that Aizawa had, in a round about way, just agreed they had done well.
The focus went back to Izuku, who trembled as he said he hadn't done anything. All Might contradicted him, saying that those few seconds Izuku bought had saved him.
Gasps were heard around the room when the camera panned up to show All Might caught between his two forms.
"Oh my gosh, how is that not painful? It looks like it should be painful!" Uraraka fretted, looking back and forth between the screen All Might and the one in the room, who was focused on comforting Midoriya.
"Perhaps it is." Iida said softly. "All Might seems adept at hiding his pain, or just has a high pain tolerance. It seems to be another thing he and Midoriya share."
Uraraka did not find this comforting.
Midoriya trembled and groaned in pain alongside his on-screen counterpart, but he grit his teeth and dealt with it. Being able to hear All Might say those words again made up for a good part of the pain, in his opinion.
Yagi lay a comforting hand on Midoriya's back. "I meant every word, thank you, young Midoriya."
The teachers talked a bit about what to do next. Then the scene changed back to the center of the USJ where Bakugo and Todoroki talked while Kirishima ran to go check on Midoriya.
"Oh wow, you were super close to finding out about All Might's secret, huh?" Kaminari said, he and a few others giggling over Midoriya and All Might's panic.
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to make sure you were both okay!" Kirishima bowed in apology. Yagi chuckled.
"Think nothing of it young man. Like you could hear in the show, I found your instinct to run to young Midoriya's assistance quite admirable. This particular instance was just poorly timed is all."
Kirishima beamed at All Might's praise while Present Mic raised an eyebrow at Todoroki and Bakugo.
"Yeah, if anyone's reaction is worthy of a scolding it was the other two. Honestly, standing around talking while an ally is laying injured on the ground? Shame on you."
"Yeah guys, get your priorities straight." Uraraka chided, with Iida nodding along. Todoroki frowned thoughtfully while Bakugo scowled.
"Deku was fine! He was fine when he did it before. Not all of us have a crush on him, you know."
"Wha-That's not-I meant it was the right thing to do as heroes!" Uraraka's face was flaming, and so was Izuku's. Ashido and Aoyama kinda looked like they wanted to grab some popcorn.
"She's right." Aizawa interceded. "The safety of civilians and allies should always be a top priority, especially after the villains have officially been dealt with."
"I'll do my best to remember." Todoroki promised. Bakugo kept scowling but didn't argue further.
Cementoss managed to shield Midoriya and All Might from sight before Kirishima could get too close. Cementoss easily redirected Kirishima and the others to gather at the entrance, then he went to check on the injured pair, gaining himself a close up quirk explanation. Cementoss commented on how reckless All Might was once again, and All Might said he'd had no choice given how strong the enemy was.
That admittance quickly dampened the mood.
The scene changed to the villain's bar.
That made for another quick mood change. Some tensed, while others leaned forward curiously, eager for any new information about the villainous leaders.
Shigaraki was deposited on the floor, blood pooling around him within seconds. He mourned his loss, how strong the kids were, and how healthy All Might was.
"Should I be flattered?" Ashido asked with palpable disgust. Hagakure did something that could have been a shrug or a flinch.
"I'll leave that one up to you." Uraraka replied, rubbing her arms.
Shigaraki looked up, and accused 'Sensei' of lying to him. A voice coming through a TV denied the accusation, stating that they had simply underestimated their opponents.
"Well, I suppose we were on to something when we theorized that Shigaraki was not the true leader." Momo murmured. For once, she didn't seem happy to be right.
"So it would seem." Iida said faintly.
Normally, Izuku's mind would have started turning the moment any part of his theory gained new evidence, but this time he was too distracted. Because when All Might heard that voice he went completely rigid. With them still being so close after Midoriya's on-screen injuries, the boy noticed right away.
"All Might? What's wrong?"
"It can't be..."
"Huh? All Might, what's-?"
All Might shook his head and held up a hand. Midoriya fell silent, but he couldn't stop staring at him, wondering what could possibly shake the Symbol of Peace so much, and if he truly wanted to know the answer.
A second voice came through the speakers, saying it was good they'd used the 'cheap League of Villains' name for such a failure. It asked how the Noumu had done. The second voice wasn't happy to hear that it had been sent flying after all the work put into it, but didn't stay upset long.
"There's TWO bigger bad guys we need to worry about?!" Mineta wailed.
"Apparently, and it seems the League may be a front for something else. How intriguing." Nedzu said.
"Villains using a villain organization as a front for ANOTHER villain organization? Now I've heard everything." Present Mic rolled his eyes. Aizawa grunted his agreement.
"And the person who apparently made the Noumu is still around, isn't that good to hear." Sero said sarcastically.
"On the plus side, no one seems to be rushing to help Shigaraki. Maybe he really will bleed out."
"Jirou please." Momo murmured.
Shigaraki brought up how strangely powerful one child had been, which immediately caught the first voice's interest. Shigaraki blamed that child for his failure.
"Oh man, Shigaraki has Midoriya's number. That is so not good." Kaminari moaned.
"No shit Sherlock." Bakugo grumbled. 'Deku can barely take care of himself. Someone's gonna get killed if they start going after the nerd specifically.'
Needless to say, no one was happy with this revelation. The teachers were especially grim faced, along with Uraraka and Iida.
'I'll protect you Deku, I swear!' Uraraka thought, unknowing that Iida made almost the exact same pledge.
The exception to this was All Might, who skipped past grim and went straight into furious.
"A-All Might?!" Izuku stammered, confused and fearful of the look on his mentor's face. The man didn't answer, but brought Izuku into a crushing hug.
"You'll be safe young Midoriya, I swear it. And I won't give in either." 'You already took Nana. You don't get to take me too, and there's no way in hell you're getting to Izuku!'
The first voice, Sensei, consoled Shigaraki on his loss. He told him to start gathering the elite, and that Shigaraki would serve as their own symbol.
"There are TEN ELITE VILLAINS we need to worry about?!" Mineta wailed even louder.
Jirou shuddred. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Mineta on this one. I don't like the sound of that. Not at all."
"Bring em all on!"
"Bakugo, could you tone it down for one minute?" Hagakure pleaded.
'I was right. Shigaraki was meant to be the face more than a true leader, at least at this point.' A part of Izuku's mind noted. The greater part of his mind was still focused on why All Might was acting so strangely. He couldn't begin to guess at what was going through his mentor's head, but he was pretty sure All Might was the one who most needed reassurance now.
"I know you won't All Might. And I don't plan on giving in either." he said, putting as much confidence into his voice as he could. All Might huffed a laugh, and loosened his grip enough to pull away a bit without letting go. Izuku felt tears well up when he saw the expression on All Might's face; how long had it been since anyone beside his mother gave him such a soft look?
"That's my boy."
The scene changed back to the USJ, where the police were making sure everyone was accounted for. While that was happening, Hagakure approached Ojiro and talked about how well he'd done all on his own, making the boy look embarrassed.
Ashido glanced at the invisible girl next to her, then at Ojiro, then at Aoyama. The sparkly blonde gave her an approving nod and wink, and Ashido grinned like the chesire cat.
Ojiro asked where Hagakure had been during the attack. She said she had been in the same zone as Todoroki, whose thoughts revealed he hadn't even noticed she was there and almost froze her.
That was exactly the kind of thing the group needed after the information dumped on them at the villains' hideout. Startled laughter burst out around the room, accompanied by softer, amused chuckles.
"Well, you weren't the only one, I was wondering where she was too." Izuku admitted with a smile. Some of the laughter became self deprecating, as others realized they'd been so engrossed that they hadn't picked up on it either.
"It's okay Todoroki, you didn't freeze my bare feet this time, so I'll forgive you." Hagakure teased. The boy looked at her with a puzzled frown.
"Thank you?"
The way he said set off even more laughter.
Ayoyama went around trying to get different people to ask him where he had been.
"Oh dang, I totally forgot about him too!" Kaminari realized aloud. Which set off another round of giggles.
"At least you had the excuse of suffering the affects of quirk overuse, we didn't even have that." Momo said with a small smile and light blush.
Each group ignored him until he finally got Tsuyu to ask, and then told her it was a secret.
"What was even the point of that if you weren't even going to say?" Sato asked.
"The point was to add to my mystique." Aoyama declared as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Uh huh..."
The police officer told the kids to go back to their classroom. Tsuyu asked about Aizawa. The kids were reassured that he would recover, but that his eyes might not get back to complete health.
"I'm forever grateful that he is alive after such a beating, but I still hope it doesn't affect his ability to use his quirk." Iida said
"Me too." Uraraka said.
Tsuyu looked over at Aizawa when she heard this, and ended up catching Midoriya's gaze along the way. It didn't take much to guess they were both thinking of how they had seen the exact moment that his eyes got so badly damaged.
Aizawa himself just gave a long suffering sigh. 'Great, I already get dry eye, now I'm gonna have to deal with whatever results from this on top of it. And I'll probably have to feel the healing injuries in the upcoming episodes. I hope Shuzenji gets me some good meds.'
Present Mic could guess what the man was thinking and shook his head fondly, though there was plenty of worry in his own eyes when he looked at him.
The students were obviously worried.
And Aizawa would be 100% lying if he said he wasn't touched by that.
And asked about the others that had been injured. The officer assured them that 13 would recover and that All Might and Midoriya were being tended to by Recovery Girl, which was a great relief to all.
Izuku felt tears welling up again at seeing how worried his classmates had been about him. He hadn't expected them to care so much...
The class was dismissed. For a brief moment Bakugo was shown remembering Izuku jumping into the line of fire for All Might, before Kirishima called him to come with the rest of the class.
Kirishima gave Bakugo a questioning look. The boy grunted and said something dismissive.
Inside the USJ the principle and two teachers discussed how they'd have to improve security, and how troublesome a villain with a warp quirk was going to be. The officer from earlier, now given the name Tsukauchi, was given the news that the Noumu had been captured. They believed it was mute since it didn't respond to them.
"Well, since we heard it make noise I'd say being fully mute is inaccurate. I am doubtful that ability extends to being able to talk though." Momo mused.
"Indeed. I can imagine how vexed someone like Shigaraki would be by a 'weapon' that had any ability to talk back to him." Tokoyama said.
Tsukauchi asked the principle for permission to investigate everywhere, and the principle was very willing to cooperate.
"I've always appreciated how you don't talk down to the police, as some heroes are prone to do." All Might told the principle. He was steadily starting to calm down now, which Midoriya was grateful to see.
"Of course, the police still play a very important role in our society after all. Not to mention it's always more useful to have the authorities view you as an ally rather than an opponent or obstacle." Nedzu said cheerily.
Uraraka was shown looking up at the nurse's office window worriedly on the way back.
Izuku felt touched by another sign of caring from one of his friends.
Meanwhile, Ashido pushed her face up next to Uraraka's and gave her a wide, knowing grin.
"Shut up." the other girl muttered, barely managing to keep a blush down.
Inside the nurse's office, All Might and Midoriya were still laying down recovering. Recovery Girl stated she couldn't really scold him this time, given the circumstances.
"That's gotta be a nice change of pace." Present Mic joked. All Might chuckled.
All Might admitted that pushing himself had likely shortened his 'hero time' again, much to Midoriya's dismay.
And the dismay of most of class 1A, made obvious by the way they were looking over at the hero in concern or murmuring their worries. The teachers tried to keep from looking too grim, but their own worry could be seen in stiff jaws or tenser postures.
The tension on screen was broken by Tsukauchi walking in, who was quickly revealed to be in on All Might's secret since he was a good friend of his. The detective started to ask for a statement from All Might, but the hero cut him off to ask if everyone else was okay.
Tokoyami nodded in approval. "That is one of the many reasons he is the number one hero."
Some others nodded in agreement. Bakugo looked confused.
The detective assured the injured pair that everyone was fine. He said that the students were alive because the teachers risked their lives, but All Might was quick to point out just how well the students had fought. They'd fought the villains and come out stronger and wiser for it, and All Might had no doubt that they would become great heroes.
"You really mean that?" Shoji asked in awe. All Might nodded deeply.
"Of course."
"Oh man, you're all gonna get me going now. All Might and Midoriya and everyone was just- just- so manly!" Kirishima declared, wiping at tears in his eyes.
Most of the other students were caught between bursting with pride and being stunned that the number one hero had just said that about all of them.
Dramatic music swelled as each of the students of 1A was shown, bruised and battered, but no less determined, until it came back to the nurse's office, where All Might gave Izuku a thumbs up.
That was the breaking point for Kirishima.
"Screw it, this is happening. Everybody! Group hug with All Might!" his cry was taken up by the whole class, and 1A surged toward the teacher's corner of the room. Even Bakugo was among the group, though it seemed to be mostly accidental on his part as he was threatening to beat up everyone who touched him too much.
So basically the whole class was being threatened before too long.
"Somebody get Aizawa in here too!" Kirishima yelled.
"Oh hell no." Aizawa sprang to his feet and vaulted over the back of the couch to escape the oncoming wave. Present Mic roared with laughter until he and the other teachers were caught by the students and drawn into the hug.
Except for Principle Nedzu though. He managed to avoid getting caught, despite the fact that no one had seen him move.
All Might was shocked at the sudden show of affection, but was certainly grateful it. He honestly wished he could switch into his hero form so he give more of them the proper hug they were looking for.
As the group hug started to wind down, they were all surprised to see that this particular episode wasn't completely over yet.
Midoriya was shown fully healed and now leaving the nurse's office. As he ran to the exit, his voice over explained that the USJ was just the beginning of the major incidents that would follow. Which was cut off when Izuku saw Iida and Uraraka waiting for him.
"I really didn't expect you guys to wait so long for me." Izuku admitted sheepishly.
"Of course we did, Deku! Your our friend!"
"Indeed, after such an incident it would be reprehensible to force a good friend to walk home alone."
It was probably a good thing Izuku hadn't tried to clean up his face from his crying during the group hug yet, because the tears were flowing once again.
As the three walked home, the scene shifted to elsewhere in the city, where a strange masked figure crouched on top of a building.
"Who the heck was that?" Sero wondered.
"Who cares? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Kaminari brushed it off.
"Yeah, and if he tries to cross us then he'll see how strong we are!" Kirishima declared. Then he caught the way Aizawa was looking at him. "But of course, we'll only do that if we have literally no other option." Aizawa nodded his approval.
"Well, I think that's quite enough for today." Nedzu said, popping out from under one of the couches. "We've all taken in a lot of information, so let's take some time to unwind and then get some shut eye, alright?"
No one argued that plan. Some students broke off to talk in groups or lay down and rest for a bit. Many students stayed around All Might, making sure he was okay and letting him know how grateful they were, and the #1 pro handled all the attention wonderfully of course. A few students were even brave enough to approach Aizawa and thank him too. Those few were treated to him muttering about how you shouldn't get a cookie for doing something you were already supposed to be doing, and how the kids should run along an burn off their energy before bed. None of them dared voice the theory that he was burying his face in his scarf to hide a smile.
Momo and Izuku spent some time talking to Nedzu about some of their observations of course (which only came after Iida handed Midoriya an entire box of tissues that had appeared on one of the back tables). Once they were done talking, Kaminari snagged Izuku to have that support item conversation they had talked about. Soon the two of them were hunched over a table as Kaminari gave Izuku as many details as he could about his quirk. Much to Kaminari's dismay, Izuku became immune to puns when he got into analyzing mode. They started to make some progress when Recovery Girl joined them at the table, since that broke Izuku out of his muttering and allowed them to consult her.
Ashido and Jirou cornered Present Mic for a while to talk more about possible band ideas. Students would come and go from that conversation, as Ashido demanded they divulge their musical abilities (or lack thereof) when they passed by. Momo joined them more permanently at one point. Mineta looked like he was thinking of going over, but a couple of the boys encouraged him to give them and the other girls a bit more space before butting in. "Maybe even wait to be invited." Ojiro suggested.
Bakugo managed to get All Might alone at one point.
"How do you do it?"
"Do what, young Bakugo?"
"How do you deal with everyone knowing you have this...this big weakness? How do you deal with them knowing you almost lost to the shitty League because of bad timing?"
"To be honest, I wish they didn't know. I wanted to become the Symbol of Peace to keep people from feeling the need to worry about such things, and it does pain me that I'm not able to do that for all of you anymore."
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh?"
"How do you deal with people knowing you can...how do you deal with people thinking you are weak?"
"..."
"What? You got something to say then spit it out!"
"So you think them being concerned about me means they think I'm weak, is that it?"
"Duh, they wouldn't worry if they thought you could actually handle shit."
"...Bakugo, if there is only one thing I can impart on you in my time as your teacher, I want it to be this: Having others worry about you does not mean you are weak, nor does accepting help. And being strong doesn't mean never losing, it means being able and willing to get back up and try again despite the losses. Trust me, I lost my fair share of battles, it's just that most of those happened before the media really started paying attention to me."
"..."
"Please, just promise me you'll think on it, okay?"
"...fine."
When things finally began to truly wind down, people started finding places to sleep. Some, including Aizawa, just passed out on the nearest soft surface. Others went into minimalist bedrooms that Truth prepared, wanting to sleep on an actual bed. All Might was among this group, since he knew that sleeping on anything but a firm bed would be murder on his back.
He was a bit surprised when young Midoriya found his way into his room, but not overly so. He knew the boy must have questions after that last episode.
"All Might, if it's not too personal, um, I'd like to ask why you reacted so, uh, much? To the voice of 'Sensei'?" the boy wrung his hands nervously, and looked torn between saying more and just bolting before he had the chance to be rejected. All Might took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"I wished I would never have to explain this to you, my boy. Or that I could at least put it off for a long time, but it seems fate, or perhaps Truth in this case, is not quite so kind."
"You don't have to..."
"It's alright Midoriya. Given that we're supposed to be seeing the future soon, I have a sinking suspicion that you and the others will hear about this anyway. But I think you deserve to have it told to you in person, and by the real me, not some possible future version of me."
"I...thank you, All Might."
The two of them ended up going to bed far later than everyone else, and when they did finally separate, neither of them got as much sleep as they would have liked.
A.N.
I wanted to let you guys know that I plan to take couple weeks off now that I've completed the first season. Part of this is because I want to give myself more time to write ahead to make sure I can updated the sports festival arc weekly without any delays, and part of it is because I've got some personal stuff going on that is making things stressful so I want to give myself a bit of time to breath. I hope you all understand and don't get too antsy waiting for season 2. Thank you
